Planning applications fall by nearly a quarter over past year

English district council planning authorities received 507,000 applications during the past financial year – 22 per cent fewer than the previous year

In recent months the number of application has dropped to almost a third of the 2008 peak.

According to the UK Statistics Authority, the number of decisions also fell by 18 per cent, down to 489,000 – of which 387,000 were permissions, an 83 per cent success rate that has remained more or less the same since 2005/06.

Meanwhile, county planning authorities received 1,667 applications during 2008/09, just 8 per cent fewer than previously. Of 1,507 decisions, 92 per cent were permissions, unchanged since 2001/02.

Countrywide, planning permissions granted in 2008/09 ranged from 91 per cent in the North East, 88 per cent in the North West, 81 per cent in the South East and 75 per cent in London.

The proportion of major applications decided within 13 weeks was highest in the North East, at 77 per cent, and lowest in the East and the South West, both at 68 per cent.

The percentage of minor applications decided within eight weeks was 80% in the North East and 79% in the North West.

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